Something about the arrival of spring makes some people seem a bit snippy but they never expect a clapback. Welcome to Dramarama where I spill the tea on the squabbles and mishaps of the beauty community. Grab a snack, get comfortable, and maybe turn on the heat because the girlies are giving cool chic this month.

Yeah… That isn’t our fault

When Glamlite announced its Chucky collection, the internet went wild and the frenzy got even crazier as the products were introduced. But when the blush duo showed up on the brand’s IG feed, some people were less than impressed. Why? Because the duo is literally the same blush shade in two separate sections (see picture). Some fans immediately asked for clarification while others outright laughed and refused to buy it, saying that Glamlite could have done two different blushes. Personally, I was concerned with how the blush was going to perform on us melanin babes but anyway…

A few Instagram comments were asking why the same shade was duplicated with Glamlite giving a mini explanation but some people refused to accept it. One person said that it was a “wasted opportunity” to have a split duo with the same shade; Glamlite gave a quick response. Everyone knows that you CANNOT give cute and quick responses on anything that makeup lovers call controversial. To quiet the noise, Gisselle (Glamlite’s founder) used her personal account to offer an explanation but most people interested didn’t follow her IG which led to even more outcry on other platforms.

On the Reddit sub Beautyguruchatter, people offered their suggestions on what could have been and lamented how the brand could have scrapped the second pan. One person who followed Gisselle on Instagram spoke out and said that the reason behind the same damn shade is that Glamlite had one shade with a word that the licensor didn’t want to be associated with the Chucky name and the licensor decided to get rid of the shade altogether. Read the screenshots for more info.

One Twitter user claimed that the split duo was “lazy level design”, sparking Glamlite’s founder/owner Gisselle to clapback and it was clear-cut, icy, and classy. You can see the full comment below but the standout to me is the ending of her statement. “There is nothing lazy about my work or what I create.” Period. 

It is notoriously difficult for brands to obtain licensor approval to even be considered for a collab and it’s impressive that Gisselle and her team crafted a cute collection to celebrate Chucky. I just feel that they should have planned an explanation about the blushes beforehand.

Own It!

It’s no secret that Jaclyn Hill has created a certain reputation for herself in the beauty community, especially after the last few years and still somewhat lacks self-awareness. Apparently, she made an Instagram story thanking Jeffree Star for “publicly supporting her when other people are afraid to” (paraphrasing). That was a calculated move on Jaclyn’s part but she’s a perpetual victim at this point.

OG influencer and Makeup Geek’s CEO Marlena Stell rolled her eyes and shared her thoughts on Twitter, basically saying that no one is afraid to support her but with Jaclyn’s history, she hasn’t proven herself to be an honest person and yadda yadda. It was a massive twitter thread; the screenshots are below. Marlena is team #ownit when it comes to drama; if you participated in creating drama, own your part, apologize, move on. Some people never learned accountability and it shows in several influencers.

*Sigh* I share Marlena’s sentiments but I don’t think it was necessary for Marlena to say anything, especially when she’s blocked by Jaclyn and knows that Jaclyn stans will fight Jaclyn’s battles for her. On the other hand, Jaclyn knows what she’s doing with those little jabs and prying for sympathy over messes that she created.

And I Oop-

Kristen Leigh Cosmetics announced its BYOP (Build Your Own Palette) called Butterfly Faerie and the artwork is gorgeous. But an eagle-eyed beauty addict took a look and recalled where they had seen the faerie before: from an artist on Instagram! The artist (Liang Xing) posted their artwork back in December 2018 and it shows the faerie lounging among leaves and holding a flower.

Kristen Leigh announced their palette in late March 2023 with the artwork showing the upper part of the faerier and some aspects of the artwork being changed (exposure, saturation, etc). On Reddit, someone said that manufacturers are known for stealing artwork and claiming the art to be “stock photos” and available for use. Shady, shady, shady.

Someone asked Kristen Leigh if they knew about the artwork infringement and the update posted to Reddit said that the brand reached out to the artist and the situation was handled, whatever that means.

Bottom line: stop trusting manufacturers with artwork or, better yet, customize everything yourself and commission an artist to create something for you. It avoids any issues like this. I do give Kristen Leigh Cosmetics credit for immediately rectifying the situation and directly talking to the artist.

It’s Giving… Petty

It’s fine to critique a brand’s products or whatever you find fault with but to shame a brand in order to push a brand that gave you a discount code? Miss ma’am, have several seats. 

So Makeup Revolution tweeted a picture with three of its glosses and asked which one fans were feeling. Now, all three glosses look the same and several people replied to the tweet saying so. However, an influencer decided to give us her best mean girl impression and quote tweeted, saying “It’s giving… nothing. Instead run to Cxc Beauty and use my code…”

I’m all for promoting brands you love and, if you are fortunate enough to have a code with them, push that code! Recommend brands with better quality! This was one of the whackest ways I’ve seen someone promote a brand and their code. I’m going to assume that she believes that any press or controversy is good for her since she can try to get a couple coins. She could have stopped at the “nothing” bit and in a separate post have mentioned how well Cxc’s glosses perform. I just want to know her thought process when doing this. Seriously.

The drama, er shadiness, was interesting. It was cattier than what I usually tell you about. I wanna know your thoughts on March’s beauty squabbles so comment below and make sure to follow Indie Clique here and on social media (all links are below!) so you get the tea on everything beauty related.

Photo credits:

Glamlite (Reddit + Instagram)

Jaclyn and Marlena drama (Rich Lux’s Youtube video + Marlena’s Twitter)

Kristen Leigh Cosmetics (Instagram + Reddit screenshot of stock image)

Code pusher drama (Twitter)

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